System and method for distribution of picture objects

ABSTRACT

A method for data communication is provided and may include, at a communications terminal, displaying picture objects and/or video objects received from a media center via a communications network. The communications terminal may transmit direction of view information (DoV) of at least one eye of a user of the terminal with respect to the displayed objects from an eye tracker at the communications terminal. The DoV may be determined by detecting a position of a pupil based on light reflected off of the pupil. Subsequent picture objects and/or video objects may be displayed by the communications terminal based on user interests determined from the transmitted DoV information. The DoV information may be determined using: a beam splitter, a lens, and a position sensing diode which receives light from the lens which has been received from the beam splitter, wherein the position sensing diode outputs a signal to the eye tracker.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/351,670, filed on Jan. 17, 2012, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/416,469, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,099,748, filed onApr. 1, 2009, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/049,908, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,565,671, filed on Feb. 20, 2002, whichis the National Stage of PCT Application No. PCT/CH00/00053 filed onFeb. 1, 2000, the entire contents of each of which are incorporatedherein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a system and a method for distribution ofpicture objects. In particular, this invention relates to a system and amethod for distribution of picture objects which are stored in a pictureobject database connected to a media center, picture object informationbeing assigned in each case to the picture objects in the picture objectdatabase, the picture objects being transmitted from the media centerover a communications network to one or more communications terminalsconnectible to this communications network, and the picture objectsbeing made visible in each case to a user of the communications terminalby means of a display unit of the communications terminal.

2. Description of the Related Art

Methods and systems are known in which centrally stored picture objectsprovided with assigned object information are transmitted over acommunications network to communications terminals and are made visiblein each case to users of these communications terminals by means of adisplay unit of the communications terminal. In the following text,designated as picture objects will be data files comprising a picturecontent that is preferably established according to a suitable mediaand/or picture data standard and which is able to be made visible on adisplay unit to a user through suitable means, for example functionscarried out through software or hardware, in particulardecompression/compression and reproduction functions. The picturecontent of these picture objects concerns, for example, still pictures,e.g. digitalized photos, graphics and/or text. It can also concern,however, moving pictures, for instance video sequences. For example,such picture objects are transmitted by web servers over the Internet tocommunications terminals, such as, for instance, personal computers, andare made visible there to the respective user through a display device,e.g. a screen. In such known systems and methods, picture objects are atmost transmitted to the communications terminal of the user in a waydependent upon how the user navigates through different pages availableat the web server, i.e. which navigation commands and/or search commandsand search parameters the user enters, without individual pictureobjects being selected by the web server in a user-specific way andbeing transmitted to the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to propose a new and better system anda new and better method for distributing picture objects which make itpossible for picture objects to be selected in a user-specific way andtransmitted to the communications terminal of a respective user withoutthe respective user having to enter commands and/or data for thisuser-specific selection.

These aims are achieved according to the invention in particular throughthe elements of the independent claims. Further, preferred embodimentsfollow moreover from the dependent claims and from the description.

This object is achieved through the present invention in particular inthat, in a system for distributing picture objects comprising

a communications network,

at least one media center connected to this communications network,

a picture object database connected to the media center in which pictureobject database the picture objects and picture object informationassigned to these picture objects are stored, and

one or more communications terminals connectible to this communicationsnetwork each having a display unit by means of which display unit thepicture objects are made visible to a user of the communicationsterminal,

user identification data are received by the media center which aretransmitted in each case from one of the communications terminals overthe communications network to the media center,

the user interests profile assigned to the received user identificationdata is determined by the media center from a user interests database,connected to the media center, in which database are stored userinterests profiles and user identification data assigned to these userinterests profiles,

selected by the media center from the picture object database arepicture objects to which picture object information is assigned havingat least one point of correspondence, i.e. at least one correlationbased on a predefined correlation value, with information from theselected user interests profile, and

at least one of the selected picture objects is transmitted by the mediacenter over the communications network to the respective communicationsterminal from which the received user identification data wastransmitted. The receipt of user identification data from acommunications terminal of a user, the determining of a user interestsprofile assigned to these user identification data, and the selectionand transmission of picture objects on the basis of the determined userinterests profile and on the basis of the picture object informationassigned to the picture objects by the media center has the advantagethat picture objects can be selected by the media center in auser-specific way and transmitted to the communications terminal of theuser without this user having to enter commands and/or data.

The current direction of view of at least one eye of a user ispreferably determined in each case by a direction-of-view-determiningmodule of the communications terminal of the respective user, thedetermined current direction of view in each case is transmitted fromthis communications terminal via the communications network to the mediacenter, and picture objects which are viewed by the user of thiscommunications terminal are determined by a direction-of-view-evaluationmodule of the media center on the basis of the determined currentdirection of view and on the basis of video objects and/or pictureobjects which have been transmitted from the media center over thecommunications network to this communications terminal. The capturing ofpicture objects that are viewed by the user has the advantage that itcan be statistically evaluated which picture objects are viewed as awhole or in particular by specific users. If, for example, the pictureobjects relate to advertising for services and/or products that areoffered by a respective provider, the distribution efficiency of thiskind of advertising can be evaluated without data having to be given bythe user.

User interests profiles are preferably determined by aninterests-determining module of the media center on the basis of theselected picture objects and are stored in the user interests database.The advantage of determining user interests profiles on the basis ofselected picture objects that are viewed by individual users is thatthese user interests profiles can be determined in the media centerdynamically and automatically without commands and/or data having to beentered by the users for this purpose.

In an embodiment variant, the picture object information includes ordernumbers, the user identification data include an unambiguous useridentification, and an order is initiated by an order module of themedia center for one of the selected picture objects, the order numberassigned to this picture object and the unambiguous user identificationbeing used for the order. The advantage of providing picture objectswith order numbers and of initiating an order on the basis of aparticular picture object being viewed by the user is that no datarelating to the object desired have to be given, which objectcorresponds to the picture content of the picture object being viewed bythe respective user, and no data concerning the desired object have torequested from the user by the media center.

In an embodiment variant, the selected picture objects are inserted intovideo objects by the media center, which video objects are transmittedfrom the media center over the communications network to the respectivecommunications terminal, where they are made visible to the user of therespective communications terminal by means of the display unit. Theinsertion of picture objects into video objects which are transmitted tothe communications terminal of a respective user and are made visiblethere to this user by means of a display unit is that picture objectscan be made visible to the user during the viewing of video objects,these picture objects being able to be selected according to theinterests profile of the respective user, as mentioned above. It shouldbe mentioned here as a concrete application, for example, that films(video objects) can be played for the user free of charge into whichpicture objects are inserted from time to time whose picture contentrelates to advertising for products and/or services that are offered bya provider and that correspond to the respective user interests profile.

In an embodiment variant, the video objects are generated by a videosynthesizer from stored media objects, the media objects, to which mediaobject information is assigned, e.g. by the video synthesizer, beingselected such that the media object information has at least one pointof correspondence, i.e. at least one correlation based on a predefinedcorrelation value, with the information from the determined userinterests profile. The advantage of generating the video objects frommedia objects that are selected in particular according to the interestsprofile of the respective user is that the video objects can begenerated dynamically to and user-specifically by the video synthesizer.A further advantage is that picture objects can be inserted into thevideo objects in such a way that they are perceived by the user as acomponent of the video sequences corresponding to the video objects,i.e. the picture objects are perceived as an integral part of the viewedvideo sequences.

In an embodiment variant, biometric features are captured in thecommunications terminals by means of sensors, which biometric featuresare inserted into the user identification data. The advantage of thisembodiment variant is that, on the one hand, biometric features, forexample fingerprints, eye patterns, facial features and/or voicepatterns, have a high level of security, and a user does not have toremember special codes or carry around with him separate means ofidentification, and, on the other hand, the capturing of these biometricdata through corresponding sensors at the communications terminal makesunnecessary the entry of data relating thereto by the user. To establishthe identity of a user, the biometric features can be assigned furtheruser data in a database, for example name, address and bank connection.The biometric features can also be used for mere (anonymous)re-identification of a respective user, however, the biometric featuresnot being assigned any further data for identification of the user.

In an embodiment variant, retinal patterns are captured by means ofmicroelectromechanical scanners, which retinal patterns are insertedinto the user identification data. The advantage of the retinal patternsis that they make possible an unambiguous user (re-) identification thatmeets high security requirements, in particular because retinal patternsare not very variable biometric features that change onlyinsignificantly in the course of time. The use of microelectromechanicalscanners for capturing the retinal patterns has the advantage that themicroelectromechanical scanners have very small dimensions and can alsobe a component of a virtual retinal display device, for instance. In anembodiment variant, lights signals corresponding to the video objectsand/or the picture objects are projected directly on the retina of theuser by means of such a virtual retinal display unit.

In an embodiment variant, the communications network comprises a mobileradio network, for instance a GSM network (Global System for MobileCommunications), a UMTS network (Universal Mobile Telephone System)and/or another, e.g. satellite-based, mobile radio network, and thecommunications terminals comprise mobile radio devices, for instancemobile radio telephones and/or portable communication-capable computers.The advantage of using mobile radio networks as the communicationsnetworks and mobile radio devices as the communications terminals in thesystem according to the invention is that the users can be mobile andcan move about freely.

In an embodiment variant, picture objects and assigned picture objectinformation relating in each case to products and/or services andentered by providers of such products and/or services over acommunications network, for example a mobile radio network or a fixednetwork, in particular the Internet or the public switched telephonenetwork or an ISDN network, are received and stored in a picture objectdatabase. The advantage of this embodiment variant is that direct accessto an advertising platform is thereby given to providers of productsand/or services, via which access the providers can enter on their owninitiative and self-sufficiently picture objects and picture objectinformation belonging thereto into the system according to the inventionfor automatic and user-specific distribution of picture objects.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described in thefollowing with reference to an example. The example of the embodiment isillustrated by the single attached figure:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the system for distribution of pictureobjects, which block diagram represents schematically a media centerthat is connected via a communications network to communicationsterminals, each having a display unit and adirection-of-view-determining module.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIG. 1, the reference numeral 1 refers to the system for distributionof picture objects. A description of the picture objects has alreadybeen given in the introduction; mentioned here in particular should bepicture objects according to the MPEG-4 standard, an ISO/IEC standard(ISO/IEC 14496) developed by MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group) andrelating to which an overview was available at the time of theapplication, for instance on the Internet pagewww.cselt.stet.it/mpeg/standards/mpeg-4. MPEG-4 offers a standard for a)representing objects with audible, visible or audiovisual content,so-called media objects, whose content can be of natural origin(recorded through microphone and/or camera) or synthetic origin(generated by computer); b) describing the combination of such mediaobjects into composite media objects forming audiovisual scenes; c)multiplexing or synchronization of data of such media objects fortransmission over communications networks; and d) the interaction withaudiovisual scenes which are generated at the recipient. According toMPEG-4, audiovisual scenes composed of a plurality of hierarchicallyorganized media objects, for instance of still picture objects, e.g. astill background, of moving picture objects, which are also referred tohere as video objects, e.g. a singing musician, and of audio objects,e.g. the song of the musician. MPEG-4 defines the coded representationof media objects with content of natural or synthetic origin, which canbe executed in two-dimensional or three-dimensional form. To achieve thepresent invention, the MPEG-4 standard, or a further development of theMPEG-4 standard or a similar standard is preferably used as the standardfor still picture objects, for moving picture objects (or videoobjects), and for audio objects, the still picture objects and themoving picture objects (video objects) being simple or composite mediaobjects according to this preferred standard, and these media objectsalso being able to comprise audio objects, as mentioned above. Forend-to-end transmission of the media objects over communicationsnetworks 3, 5, the Delivery Multimedia Integration Framework (DMIF)protocol defined in MPEG-4 can be used. For the description of scenesthat are made up of individual media objects, the Binary Format forScenes (BIFS) defined in MPEG-4 can be used which is based on theVirtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML). The scene description is codedand transmitted together with the individual media objects.

A communications network 3 is shown schematically in FIG. 1 as part ofthe system 1 for distribution of picture objects, via whichcommunication-capable communications terminals 4, 4′, 4″ are able tocommunicate with a media center 2, i.e. in particular exchange data. Thecommunications network 3 can comprise a plurality of communicationsnetworks of different kinds, for instance fixed networks, e.g. thepublic switched telephone network, an ISDN network (Integrated ServicesDigital Network), a PLC network (Power Line Communication) or an IFnetwork (Internet Protocol), in particular the worldwide Internet,and/or mobile radio networks, for instance GSM or UMTS networks oranother, e.g. satellite-based, mobile radio network. Accordingly thecommunications terminals 4, 4′, 4″ connectible to the communicationsnetwork 3 can comprise communications terminals of different kinds, forexample fixed-installed communications terminals 4′, for instance apersonal computer or terminal accessible to the public, or portablecommunication-capable computers 4″, e.g. laptop computers, palmtopcomputers or mobile data assistants (PDA, Personal Data Assistant) withsuitable communications modules, or mobile radio devices, in particularmobile radio telephones 4. For the transport of data, in particular dataof the picture and video objects, between the media center 2 and themobile radio telephone 4′, GPRS services (Generalized Packet RadioServices) or HSCSD services (High Speed Circuit Switched Data) can beused, for example, or other suitable services. The communicationsnetwork 3 can also comprise a unidirectional broadcast system, forinstance a DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) or DVB system (Digital VideoBroadcasting), via which media objects are transmitted from the mediacenter 2 to the communications terminals 4, 4′, 4″, which are equippedwith DAB or DVB receivers for this purpose, and which comprise for thereturn channel to the media center 2 a suitable communications modulefor communication over a fixed or mobile radio network of thecommunications network 3. It should be indicated by way of the threepoints in FIG. 1 that a multiplicity of communications terminals 4, 4′,4″ are connectible to the media center 2 via the communications network3. Although, in FIG. 1, certain components of the communicationsterminals have been shown only for the mobile radio telephone, all thesecomponents can also be available with the other communications terminals4′ and 4″. Mentioned here as examples of such certain components shouldbe the display unit 41, the direction-of-view-determining module 42 andthe retina scanner 43, which are connected to the mobile radio telephone4 via a device interface having contacts or without contacts, forinstance.

The display unit 41 is, for example, a virtual retinal display unit 41,which makes picture objects visible to the user in that it projectslight signals corresponding to the picture objects directly on theretina of the eye of the user. For this projecting and capturing oflight reflected or emitted by objects, the display device 41 comprisesat least one microelectromechanical (MEMS, MicroElectroMechanicalSystem) element, in particular a microelectro-mechanical scanner. Theuser of microelectromechanical scanners comprising amicroelectromechanical element with a biaxial mirror for projectingpicture objects into a direct retinal display unit and/or for receivinglight reflected or emitted by objects is described, for example, in thepatent application WO 98/13720. A virtual retinal display unit (VirtualRetinal Display, VRD) which is able to project light signalscorresponding to picture objects directly onto the retina of a viewerhas been described, for example, in the patent applications WO 94/09472,WO 97/37339 and in the above-mentioned patent application WO 98/13720.These virtual retinal display units can be supplied via a videointerface with data on picture objects, for instance in the form of aRGB signal, a NTSC signal, a VGA signal or another formatted color ormonochrome video or graphic signal. One skilled in the art willunderstand that it can be advantageous to adapt the virtual retinaldisplay device described in the mentioned patent publications WO94/09472 and WO 97/37339, or respectively the video interface describedthere, such that it is able to receive and process different dataformats efficiently, depending upon the picture objects used. By meansof an interface module (not shown), which is installed in thecommunications terminal 4, for instance, data on picture objects canalso be suitably adapted to the video interface, or respectivelyreceived data on picture objects can be converted in such a way as to beable to be applied to the video interface and made visible to the userby means of the virtual retinal display unit 41.

The components of the display device 41 are preferably integrated in acommon housing or are installed on a common support, this housing orthis support being preferably designed such that it can be put on by auser like conventional eyeglasses or like a helmet.

Further components, such as, for example, a microphone, headphones, thementioned device interface, the direction-of-view determining module 42and/or the retina scanner 43 can likewise be installed on/in this commonsupport. Also possible are communications terminals 4, 4′, 4″, which areexecuted (as a device) together with the display unit 41 as well astogether with the last-mentioned further components, if applicable, in acommon housing or on a common support.

As shown schematically in FIG. 1, connected to the display unit 41 isthe direction-of-view-determining module 42, which determines thecurrent direction of view of the eyes of the user through determinationof the current eye positions of the user during viewing of pictureobjects, and is able to transmit it via the above-mentioned deviceinterface to the mobile radio telephone 4. A direction-of-viewdetermining module (eye tracker) which determines current eye positionsbased on the position of the pupil of a user has likewise been describedin the above-mentioned patent application WO 94/09472, and can beextended by one skilled in the art such that the determined eyepositions can be transmitted via the device interface to the mobileradio telephone 4; depending upon the embodiment, values for both eyescan be made available. It should be mentioned here moreover that, inorder to determine the actual direction of view of the user, which isnot limited to the direction of view with respect to the display unit41, determined eye positions can additionally be combined, for examplein the mobile radio telephone 4, with captured head position, or headmovement, captured as horizontal and vertical head angles with respectto the horizontal and vertical plane by an additionalbody-part-position-determining module (not shown).

By means of the above-mentioned microelectromechanical scanner,respectively by means of an additional such microelectromechanicalscanner, which can be used for capturing light reflected or emitted byobjects in addition to projecting light signals on the retina, theretinal pattern of a user can also be captured, in particular thepattern formed by the veins of the retina. For this purpose, themicroelectromechanical scanner delivers the light reflected by theretina, for example by means of a beam splitter, to (at least) onelight-sensitive element. Such a retina scanner, which can also bedesigned for polychrome images and is suitable for capturing suchretinal patterns, has been described, for instance, in theabove-mentioned patent application WO 98/13720. The light valuescaptured in the light-sensitive element(s) are digitalized in the retinascanner 43, for example, and from the reflection data obtainedtherefrom, the retinal pattern is generated, for example by means of asubtraction operation from projected and reflected light. The capturingof retinal patterns by the retina scanner 43, which comprises theabove-described components for capturing the retinal pattern, can beinitiated by means of a corresponding command, for example, which issent from the mobile radio telephone 4 to the retinal scanner 43 via thedevice interface. It is also possible for the retina scanner 43 to beprovided with a separate light source for determining the retinalpattern, for instance an LED (Light Emitting Diode) or a laser, whoselight rays are projected on the retina as a grid of picture points orlight points, for instance by means of a suitable microelectromechanicalmovable mirror, so that the captured reflection data, which, asmentioned above, are obtained from the reflected light rays, correspondto the retinal pattern. This direct capturing of the retinal pattern cantake place during simultaneous viewing of picture objects by the user ifthe separate light source emits light containing wavelengths other thanthe light signals corresponding to the picture objects, for instance ifthe light source is an infrared light source, and if the light-sensitiveelement used is correspondingly designed for this light.

It should be mentioned here that although, in this preferred embodimentexample, only the capturing of retinal patterns as eye features has beengone into, other eye patterns can also be captured, for instancepatterns of the iris.

One skilled in the art will understand that, in the sense of the presentinvention, components used by the virtual retinal display unit 41, thedirection-of-view-determining module 42 and the retina scanner 43, suchas pivotable microelectromechanical mirrors, light sources,light-sensitive elements and/or programmable processors, can be combinedin different embodiment variants of the display unit 41, of thedirection-of-view-determining module 42 and of the retina scanner 43, orseparate components can be used in each case for the display unit 41,the direction-of-view-determining module 42 and the retina scanner 43.It is also possible for individual components to be able to be replacedby components with combined function, for instance an LED light sourceand a light-sensitive element.

The media center 3 consists of one or more computers connected to oneanother, in particular high-capacity servers, which have acommunications module 21 which is equipped with the necessary hardwareand software components for communication via the communications network3 with the communications terminals 4, 4′, 4″, and via thecommunications network 5, which can be designed like the communicationsnetwork 3, with communications terminals 6 of providers, who offer forsale products and/or services, for instance. As is shown schematicallyin FIG. 1, the media center 2 is connected to various databases 291-294.These databases 291-294 can be executed on separate computers connectedto the media center 2 and/or can be executed jointly of the samecomputer(s) as the media center 2. The databases 291-294 can also beexecuted in a joint database. For storing their data, the databases291-294 comprise suitable data carriers which can be designeddifferently depending upon the volume and necessary access time of thedata stored thereon. The media center 2 comprises further functionalmodules 22-27, which are achieved either as programmed software modulesstored in a memory of the media center 2 and executable on a processorof the media center 2, or are achieved as a combination of such softwaremodules with suitable hardware components, or are achieved purely ashardware components.

It should be made clear here that the arrows shown in FIG. 1 connectingthe functional modules 24-27 and the databases 291-294 are provided forbetter understanding of the data flow, described later, between thesemodules and components, but that these arrows do not illustrate in anylimiting way the technical achievement of the communication channels, orrespectively interfaces, between these modules and components.

An interested user can contact the media center 2 with hiscommunication-capable communications terminal 4, 4′, 4″ via thecommunications network 3, for example through automated or manualselection of a corresponding service number of the media center 2. Aftersuccessful contact, for instance upon inquiry of the media center 2, thecommunications terminal 4 transmits user identification data for therespective user via the communications network 3 to the media center 2,where they are received, for example by the communications module 21,and are forwarded to the interests-determining module 25. The useridentification data are temporarily stored in the media center 2, forassignment of a respective user to his communications terminal 4, 4′, 4″the user identification data being assigned an identification relatingto the communications terminal 4, 4′, 4″ from which the useridentification data were received, or relating to the communicationsconnection (session) with this communications terminal 4, 4′, 4″. Theuser identification data comprise, for example, biometric user features,for instance fingerprints, eye patterns, facial features and/or voicepatterns which are stored, for example, on a chipcard 44 removablyconnected to the communications terminal 4, or which are capturedthrough suitable sensors of the communications terminal 4. The eyepattern is, for example, a retinal pattern which is captured by theabove-mentioned retina scanner 43. The user identification data can alsocomprise further elements, for example an unambiguous useridentification that can be used internationally, e.g. an InternationalMobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) for identification at a networkoperator or a user identification, for instance an International DebitUser Identification (IDUI) for identification at financial servicesproviders, e.g. banks and/or credit card companies, or which can be usedfor unambiguous identification of the user by a provider or a group ofproviders, e.g. a membership number.

By means of IVR (Interactive Voice Response) or speech recognitionservices or through transmission of menu structures shown in each caseon a display unit of the respective communications terminal, forinstance in the form of a software program, e.g. a Java applet (Java isa registered trademark of the company Sun Microsystems), the mediacenter 2 can make it possible for the user to select from amongdifferent available service offers and/or media offers, in particularfilm offers. Corresponding to the selection made by the user, orotherwise corresponding to a selection made by the media center 2, forinstance on the basis of a user interests profile stored in the userinterests database 292, which is assigned to the received useridentification data, media objects, in particular video objects, arethen transmitted from the media center 2, for instance free of charge,over the communications network 3 to the communications terminal 4 ofthe respective user, where they are made visible to this user by meansof the display unit 41. The media objects thereby correspond to filmswhich are stored in the video database 293, or the video objects aregenerated by a video synthesizer 27 of the media center 2 from mediaobjects which are stored in the media object database 294. Thegeneration of video objects by the video synthesizer 27 makes possibleautomatic production of synthetic or virtual films, for instanceaccording to object-oriented scripts.

While the viewer is viewing the media objects transmitted by the mediacenter 2, in particular video objects and picture objects, made visibleby means of the display unit 41, the current direction of view of atleast one eye of the user is continuously determined by thedirection-of-view-determining module 42 of the communications terminal4, for instance periodically according to a predefined time period, orin each case upon inquiry by the media center 2, and is transmitted overthe communications network 3 to the media center 2, for instancetogether with a time indication or an indication for identification ofthe currently shown media object 2. Determined by adirection-of-view-evaluation module 23 of the media center 2 on thebasis of the current direction of view, received in the media center 2,of a viewer, is the media object, or respectively video object orpicture object, lying in the current direction of view of the videoand/or picture objects viewed by the user, which have been transmittedby the media center 2 to the communications terminal 4, 4′, 4″ of theuser. This media object, or video object or picture object, is therebydetermined in that, from the current direction of view with respect tothe display unit 41, the coordinates are determined of the viewed spotof the media object (picture or video object) being made visible to theuser at this point in time, and, on the basis of these coordinates, themedia object, or video object or picture object is determined which islocated at this spot. An object reference to the thus determined mediaobject, or video object or picture object, is made available by thedirection-of-view-evaluation module 23 to other modules of the mediacenter 2, for instance the interests-determining module 25, for furtheruse.

The object references to the determined media objects, or video orpicture objects are stored assigned to the user identification data forthe respective user by the interests-determining module 25 of the mediacenter 2, and, for instance on the basis of the frequency and/orduration with which these media objects or video or picture objects areviewed by the respective user, a user interests profile is created, orupdated, which is stored, assigned to the user identification data forthe respective user, in the user interests database 292. In creating theuser interests profile, media object information, in particular videoand/or picture object information, is taken into consideration by theinterests-determining module 25, which information is stored in eachcase, assigned to the respective media object or video or pictureobject, in the media object database 294, or respectively picture objectdatabase 291. For composite media objects that are stored in the videodatabase 293, media objects, or video or picture objects of which themedia objects in the video database 293 are composed, as well asassociated media object information, or video or picture objectinformation are stored in the media object database 294 and/or in thepicture object database 291. In particular for media objects or video orpicture objects relating to products and/or services, media objectinformation or video or picture object information, comprises, forexample, data concerning these products and/or services, for instancetypes, names, structured classifications, costs, technical featuresand/or outer appearance (design, color), and/or data relating to theprovider(s) and/or manufacturers of such products and/or services, forinstance branch, name, address, number of employees, financialconditions and/or founding year of the firm. Correspondingly, the userinterests profile comprises, for example, data relating to productsand/or services in which the respective user is interested, for instancetype, name, structured classifications, costs, technical features and/orouter appearance (design, color), and/or data relating to providerand/or manufacturer of such products and/or services in which therespective user is interested, e.g. branches, names, addresses, numberof coworkers, financial conditions and/or founding year. Data about theservice and/or media offers, in particular film offers, in which therespective user is interested can also be contained in the userinterests profile. It is also possible for user interests profiles to bedefined by the user himself on-line, for example over the communicationsnetwork 3, or respectively off-line, and updated directly, or at a laterpoint in time, in the user interests database 292.

On the basis of the user identification data received from a respectiveuser, the user interests profile assigned to these user identificationdata in the user interests database 292 is determined in the mediacenter 2 by a media object determining module 26. the basis of thedetermined user interests profile, the media object determining module26 determines the media objects, which are stored in the media objectdatabase 294, or picture objects, which are stored in the picture objectdatabase 291 in which the respective user could be interested. For thispurpose, the correlation between the user interests profile and themedia object information, or the picture object information, isdetermined by the media object determining module 26, which informationis stored in the media object database 294, or respectively the pictureobject database 291, associated in each case with the media objects orthe picture objects. Thereby varied—for instance depending upon how manydata are contained in a respective user interests profile—can be thecorrelation factor, i.e. the degree of agreement between user interestsprofile and the media object information or picture object informationset as a prerequisite for a media object or a picture object to beclassified by the media object determining module 26 as interesting forthe respective user. A minimal correlation between user interestsprofile and the media object information or picture object information,is, for instance, the e.g. semantic agreement with at least one dataelement. Object references to media objects stored in the media objectdatabase 294 or to picture objects stored in the picture object database291, which are classified as interesting for the user, are forwarded bythe media object determining module 26 to the video synthesizer 27. Thetemporal sequence of execution of the forwarding of object references tothe video synthesizer 27 is thereby controlled by the media objectdetermining module 26, for example, in particular if numerous mediaobjects, respectively picture objects, are classified as interesting forthe user. The media object determining module 26 can also limit thenumber of object references sent to the video synthesizer 27 to apredefined number, this number being defined, for instance, as numberper unit of time, and object references to media objects or pictureobjects having the highest determined correlation being preferablyforwarded in a preferential way.

The video synthesizer takes from the object database 291 in each casethe picture object corresponding to an object reference, and inserts itinto the video objects that are transmitted from the video database 293to the communications terminal 4 of the respective user from whom therespective user identification data were received. The coordinates, atwhich the picture object is inserted into the video object can bepredefined, for example, or can be determined with a random algorithm.Besides the integration of picture objects into the picture region ofthe video object perceived by the user, picture objects can also beinserted into the video objects such that they interrupt the videosequence from the perspective of the user in that they fill the entirepicture region. In addition to insertion of picture objects into videoobjects, the video synthesizer can also generate video scenes,respectively films, synthetically in that media objects are taken fromthe media object database 294, in particular media objects for which theobject references have been received from the media object determiningmodule 26, and are put together, for instance according to a predefinedscript, as new composite media objects or video objects which aretransmitted to the communications terminal 4 of a respective user.Picture objects, for which object references have been received from themedia object determining module 26, can likewise be inserted by thevideo synthesizer into such synthetically generated media objects,respectively video objects. It should be mentioned here once again thatthe picture objects from the picture object database 291, which areinserted into the media objects or video objects, are not limited tostill pictures only, but that they can also contain moving pictures,even audio objects. For statistical evaluations, forwarded objectreferences can be stored in the media center 2 and numerically recorded.

In an embodiment variant, the picture object information for the pictureobjects also includes an order number comprising an identification of aproduct and/or service as well as an identification of a provider ofthis product and/or of this service, for example. Such picture objectscan be marked for the user with a visible graphic identification, forinstance. If a user is viewing such a picture object and at the sametime transmits a predefined order command to the media center 2, forinstance by means of spoken language or with operating elements 45 ofthe communications terminal 4 or by immediately afterwards looking at acontrol icon made visible to the user by the display unit 41, an orderis initiated by the order module 22 in the media center 2. An order isthereby generated comprising the order number as well as data forunambiguous identification of the respective user, followingcorresponding confirmation by the respective user, if applicable, and issent to the respective provider, for instance by e-mail, by fax or bymeans of conventional mail. Although user identification data withbiometric features make it possible to identify a user againunambiguously, further user-specific data, such as, for example, nameand address, in particular delivery address, should be associated withthese user identification data for completion of an order. If such dataare not available in the media center 2, it is advantageous if the useridentification data contain an alternative or additional unambiguoususer identification, for example an IMSI (International MobileSubscriber Identity), which can be used by the operator of thecommunications network 3 to identify the respective user and to completethe order with further data on the user, for instance from a subscriberdatabase, before the data are forwarded to the respective provider.

To enable providers of products and/or services to have picture objectsdistributed relating to their products and/or services over thedescribed system for user-specific distribution of picture objects, themedia center 2 has a picture object input module 24 which theseproviders can access over the communications network 5 by means ofsuitable communications terminals 6 and by means of suitable accesssoftware, for example browsers. Besides predefined input forms for entryof picture object information, the picture object input module 22 canalso make available to providers conversion and editing tools, forexample, to facilitate the entry of picture objects, for instance,having a different format from that used by the media center 2. Pictureobjects and associated picture object information input via the pictureobject input module 22 are stored in the picture object database 291 bythe picture object input module 22. A monetary amount depending upon thenumber and/or the data volume of the stored picture objects andassociated picture object information can be billed to the providers,for example. This monetary amount can also be calculated depending uponthe storage duration (which can be limited, for example) of thesepicture objects in the picture object database 291 and/or upon thenumber of transmissions of the picture objects to communicationsterminals 4, 4′, 4″ of interested users.

The system and method according to the invention for distribution ofpicture objects makes possible a user-specific distribution of pictureobjects according to user interests profiles. Through the system and themethod for user-specific distribution of picture objects, moreover,these user interests profiles can also be determined automaticallywithout respective users having thereby to enter data. The describedsystem and method can also capture user identification data forrespective users automatically without the user having to enter data forthis purpose, and assign determined user interests profiles to theseuser identification data. Through the storage and assignment ofdetermined user interests profiles and user identification data, theuser interests profiles can be re-assigned to a respective user at laterpoints in time, which can take place anonymously, for example, i.e.without knowledge of the identity of the respective user, if no furtherpersonal data are assigned to the user identification data that wouldmake it possible to establish the identity of the respective user. Thesystem and method according to the invention for distribution of pictureobjects offers in particular providers of products and/or services aplatform for automatic and user-specific distribution of advertisingrelating to their products and/or services, the providers also being inparticular informed through statistical information about how frequentlyand/or how long their picture objects are viewed by users, for instancecompared to picture objects of other providers. If the mentionedanonymity is not desired, further identification data for respectiveusers can be stored assigned to the user identification data, forexample with the consent of the respective user given on-line.Statistical information can also be made available to interestedproviders about the overall state of interests of users of the systemfor distribution of picture objects.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for data communication, the methodcomprising: at a communications terminal, displaying picture objectsand/or video objects received from a media center via a communicationsnetwork; transmitting, to the media center, direction of viewinformation of at least one eye of a user of the communications terminalwith respect to the displayed picture objects and/or video objects froman eye tracker at the communications terminal, wherein the direction ofview information is determined by detecting a position of a pupil basedon: light reflected off of the pupil using a beam splitter, throughwhich light is passed to the pupil and which is configured to receivelight reflected off the pupil; a lens which is configured to receivelight from the beam splitter which is reflected off the pupil; and aposition sensing diode which receives light from the lens which has beenreceived from the beam splitter, wherein the position sensing diodeoutputs a signal to the eye tracker; and displaying subsequent pictureobjects and/or video objects received from the media center based onuser interests determined from the transmitted direction of viewinformation.
 2. The method according to claim 1, comprising transmittingdirection of view information to the media center for determining viewedspots of the picture objects and/or video objects.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, comprising transmitting, to the media center,identification data of a user of the communications terminal and one ormore order numbers identifying a product and/or service assigned to oneor more picture objects and/or video objects viewed by the user.
 4. Themethod according to claim 3, wherein the user identification data andthe one or more order numbers assigned to the one or more pictureobjects and/or video objects viewed by the user enable the generation ofan order for the user for the product and/or service.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 4, wherein the one or more order numbers include anidentification of a provider, and wherein the order is transmitted tothe provider identified in the respective order number.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the determined user interests are storedin a user interest profile.
 7. The method according to claim 6, whereinat least one selected picture object and/or video object having at leastone correlation with information from the user interest profile aredetermined by the media center; and receiving the selected pictureobject and/or video object at the communications terminal via thecommunications network.
 8. The method according to claim 1, comprisingreceiving, at the communications terminal via the communicationsnetwork, a selected picture object inserted into a video object.
 9. Asystem for wireless communication, the system comprising: acommunications terminal for coupling with a media center via acommunications network, said communications terminal being operable to:display picture objects and/or video objects received via thecommunications network; transmit, to the media center, direction of viewinformation of at least one eye of a user of the communications terminalwith respect to the displayed picture objects and/or video objects froman eye tracker at the communications terminal, wherein the direction ofview information is determined by detecting a position of a pupil basedon: light reflected off of the pupil using a beam splitter, throughwhich light is passed to the pupil and which is configured to receivelight reflected off the pupil; a lens which is configured to receivelight from the beam splitter which is reflected off the pupil; and aposition sensing diode which receives light from the lens which has beenreceived from the beam splitter, wherein the position sensing diodeoutputs a signal to the eye tracker; and display subsequent pictureobjects and/or video objects received from the media center based onuser interests determined from the transmitted direction of viewinformation.
 10. The system according to claim 9, wherein thecommunications terminal is operable to transmit the direction of viewinformation to the media center for determining viewed spots of thepicture objects and/or video objects.
 11. The system according to claim9, wherein the communications terminal is operable to transmit, to themedia center, identification data of a user of the communicationsterminal and one or more order numbers identifying a product and/orservice assigned to one or more picture objects and/or video objectsviewed by the user.
 12. The system according to claim 11, wherein theuser identification data and the one or more order numbers assigned tothe one or more picture objects and/or video objects viewed by the userenable the generation of an order for the user for the product and/orservice.
 13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the one or moreorder numbers include an identification of a provider, and wherein theorder is transmitted to the provider identified in the respective ordernumber.
 14. The system according to claim 9, wherein the determined userinterests are stored in a user interest profile.
 15. The systemaccording to claim 14, wherein at least one selected picture objectand/or video object having at least one correlation with informationfrom the user interest profile are determined by the media center, andthe communications terminal is operable to receive the selected pictureobject and/or video object via the communications network.
 16. Thesystem according to claim 9, wherein the communications terminal isoperable to receive a selected picture object inserted into a videoobject.
 17. A method for data communication, the method comprising: at acommunications terminal, displaying picture objects and/or video objectsreceived from a media center via a communications network; transmitting,to the media center, direction of view information of at least one eyeof a user of the communications terminal with respect to the displayedpicture objects and/or video objects from an eye tracker at thecommunications terminal, wherein the direction of view information isdetermined by detecting a position of a pupil based on: light reflectedoff of the pupil using a light source which imparts light onto the pupilof a user of the communications terminal; a combiner which reflectslight which has been reflected off the pupil; a lens which receiveslight from the combiner; a charge coupled device (CCD) which receiveslight from the combiner; and a pupil position processor which receives asignal from the CCD and determines the position of the pupil; anddisplaying subsequent picture objects and/or video objects received fromthe media center based on user interests determined from the receiveddirection of view information.
 18. The method according to claim 17,comprising transmitting direction of view information to the mediacenter for determining viewed spots of the picture objects and/or videoobjects.
 19. The method according to claim 17, comprising transmitting,to the media center, identification data of a user of the communicationsterminal and one or more order numbers identifying a product and/orservice assigned to one or more picture objects and/or video objectsviewed by the user.
 20. The method according to claim 19, wherein theuser identification data and the one or more order numbers assigned tothe one or more picture objects and/or video objects viewed by the userenable the generation of an order for the user for the product and/orservice.
 21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the one or moreorder numbers include an identification of a provider, and wherein theorder is transmitted to the provider identified in the respective ordernumber.
 22. The method according to claim 17, wherein the determineduser interests are stored in a user interest profile.
 23. The methodaccording to claim 22, wherein at least one selected picture objectand/or video object having at least one correlation with informationfrom the user interest profile are determined by the media center; andreceiving the selected picture object and/or video object at thecommunications terminal via the communications network.
 24. The methodaccording to claim 17, comprising receiving, at the communicationsterminal via the communications network, a selected picture objectinserted into a video object.
 25. A system for wireless communication,the system comprising: a communications terminal for coupling with amedia center via a communications network, said communications terminalbeing operable to: display picture objects and/or video objects receivedvia the communications network; transmit, to the media center, directionof view information of at least one eye of a user of the communicationsterminal with respect to the displayed picture objects and/or videoobjects from an eye tracker at the communications terminal, wherein thedirection of view information is determined by detecting a position of apupil based on: light reflected off of the pupil using a light sourcewhich imparts light onto the pupil of a user of the communicationsterminal; a combiner which reflects light which has been reflected offthe pupil; a lens which receives light from the combiner; a chargecoupled device (CCD) which receives light from the combiner; and a pupilposition processor which receives a signal from the CCD and determinesthe position of the pupil; and display subsequent picture objects and/orvideo objects received from the media center based on user interestsdetermined from the received direction of view information.
 26. Thesystem according to claim 25, wherein the communications terminal isoperable to transmit direction of view information for determiningviewed spots of the picture objects and/or video objects.
 27. The systemaccording to claim 25, wherein the communications terminal is operableto transmit, to the media center, identification data of a user of thecommunications terminal and one or more order numbers identifying aproduct and/or service assigned to one or more picture objects and/orvideo objects viewed by the user.
 28. The system according to claim 27,wherein the user identification data and the one or more order numbersassigned to the one or more picture objects and/or video objects viewedby the user enable generation of an order for the user for the productand/or service.
 29. The system according to claim 28, wherein the one ormore order numbers include an identification of a provider, and whereinthe order is transmitted to the provider identified in the respectiveorder number.
 30. The system according to claim 25, wherein thedetermined user interests are stored in a user interest profile.
 31. Thesystem according to claim 30, wherein at least one selected pictureobject and/or video object having at least one correlation withinformation from the user interest profile are determined by the mediacenter; and the communications device is operable to receive theselected picture object and/or video object via the communicationsnetwork.
 32. The system according to claim 25, wherein thecommunications terminal is operable to receive a selected picture objectinserted into a video object.
 33. A method for data communication, themethod comprising: at a communications terminal, displaying pictureobjects and/or video objects received from a media center via acommunications network; transmitting, to the media center, direction ofview information of at least one eye of a user of the communicationsterminal with respect to the displayed picture objects and/or videoobjects from an eye tracker at the communications terminal, wherein thedirection of view information is determined by detecting a position of apupil based on: light reflected off of the pupil using a beam splitter,through which light is passed to the pupil and which is configured toreceive light reflected off the pupil; a lens which is configured toreceive light from the beam splitter which is reflected off the pupil;and a position sensor which receives light from the lens which has beenreceived from the beam splitter, wherein the position sensor outputs asignal to the eye tracker; and transmitting subsequent picture objectsand/or video objects for display by the communications terminal based onuser interests determined from the received direction of viewinformation.
 34. The method according to claim 33, comprisingtransmitting direction of view information to the media center fordetermining viewed spots of the picture objects and/or video objects.35. The method according to claim 33, comprising transmitting, to themedia center, identification data of a user of the communicationsterminal and one or more order numbers identifying a product and/orservice assigned to one or more picture objects and/or video objectsviewed by the user.
 36. The method according to claim 35, wherein theuser identification data and the one or more order numbers assigned tothe one or more picture objects and/or video objects viewed by the userenable the generation of an order for the user for the product and/orservice.
 37. The method according to claim 36, wherein the one or moreorder numbers include an identification of a provider, and wherein theorder is transmitted to the provider identified in the respective ordernumber.
 38. The method according to claim 33, wherein the determineduser interests are stored in a user interest profile.
 39. The methodaccording to claim 38, wherein at least one selected picture objectand/or video object having at least one correlation with informationfrom the user interest profile are determined by the media center; andreceiving the selected picture object and/or video object at thecommunications terminal via the communications network.
 40. The methodaccording to claim 33, comprising receiving, at the communicationsterminal via the communications network, a selected picture objectinserted into a video object.